Jason Kelce’s Eagles-Jaguars broadcast shows why NFL booths could use more offensive linemen
Jason Kelce made an emergency long snapper one of the most interesting parts of Eagles-Jaguars on Sunday morning.
I wasn’t expecting to spend much time thinking about Jacksonville’s long-snapping situation when I turned on the game. But that’s where we ended up, and having a former offensive lineman in the booth made it worth listening to.
Kelce joined Dave Pasch and Kurt Warner for NFL Network’s broadcast from London. The assignment is one of four games on Kelce’s NFL Network schedule this season.
The combination worked really well. Warner can explain the game from the quarterback’s perspective, while Kelce spent his career dealing with everything happening directly in front of the quarterback.
Most game broadcasts spend a lot of time talking about quarterback play, and rightfully so: it's the most important position on the field. That said, it was refreshing to get some perspective from a former offensive lineman and it added depth to the presentation.
After Jaguars long snapper Ross Matiscik suffered a shoulder injury, Jacksonville turned to defensive tackle DaVon Hamilton.
Long snapper isn't a position most fans spend much time thinking about (at least not until something goes horribly wrong), but it's a critical position.
Kelce had actually done the job in high school and knew something about the difficulty of doing it as a very large human being.
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"When I got fat, when I put on weight, I used to long-snap in high school," Kelce said. "When I got to over 300 pounds-ish, it became really hard to look in between your legs."
Well, there’s something I hadn’t considered.
Hamilton, a 29-year-old, 6-foot-4, 335-pound defensive tackle who long snapped in high school, was being asked to handle a job that could swing the game with one bad snap.
Kelce was enjoying Hamilton’s effort, too.
"Way to go, DaVon Hamilton. I love it."
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Warner, meanwhile, wanted to correct Kelce’s description of himself.
"You’ve never been fat. You’re just husky."
The reviews on X were considerably less friendly in places.
"Jason Kelce is on the call for Jaguars/Eagles?… Yeah, this won’t be a biased broadcast at all," one user wrote.
Another viewer said: "Yeah I’m sorry, Jason Kelce cannot do Eagles games. Clear bias and won’t stop talking."
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Playing for the Eagles doesn’t automatically make Kelce a bad choice to call their games. Judge him on what he says.
Kelce did lay it on a little thick when praising Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni for calling a timeout late in the first half. The timeout gave replay officials more time to look at a potential fumble. It was a smart move, but Kelce was a little over-the-top in his approval.
The other main complaint was that Kelce talked too much. One user posted, "Jason Kelce hasn’t stopped talking," while another viewer accused him of leaving Warner with nothing to do.
I don't agree with that assessment. The three-man booth can be challenging to navigate and often one analyst spends more time talking. But I felt the distribution made sense.
There’s room for Kelce’s enthusiasm alongside Warner’s analysis, especially when they’re looking at the game from different positions. The long-snapping sequence was my favorite part, but I’d like to hear that quarterback-center conversation on more broadcasts.
And social media wasn't entirely negative. Chase Senior had a take I agreed with: "I actually think this role suits him better than being on the set for ESPN."
Kelce is a natural as a game broadcaster. I wouldn’t be surprised if a network offers him a nice raise to do it full-time.